Head of Philanthropy

QuarterFive are partnering with The British Heart Foundation (BHF) in their search for a Head of Philanthropy, a new, key leadership role. 

With strong foundations already in place, BHF is ready to take philanthropy to the next level—growing income from high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and foundations beyond its current £4m annual income towards a long-term £9m+ ambition. This role offers the opportunity to lead a talented team, cultivate transformational gifts, and build a sustainable, high-performing philanthropy programme.

The role offers flexibility in how you manage your time and team, giving you the freedom to creatively approach donor stewardship, team development, and pipeline growth. The foundations are already in place, and you’ll have the golden opportunity to ignite BHF’s philanthropic potential by building on existing momentum and achieving the strategic income targets for the coming years. 

We’re looking for a proven leader with hands-on experience in securing six and seven-figure gifts, developing high-value pipelines, and inspiring teams. The role is based in London with a blended working approach—typically one day per week in the office, with flexibility depending on your activities.

A detailed brief will be shared with suitable candidates and application guidance provided. Please apply ASAP with a copy of your latest CV. 

Key responsibilities

• Development and delivery of the philanthropy strategy, identifying and optimising key fundraising opportunities, with a focus on maximising BHF's research vision to engage new and existing audiences.
• Lead, inspire and manage the Philanthropy team of 7, building a successful, high-performing effective and efficient team that delivers against income (and other) objectives.
• Proactively develop and support a personal portfolio of cold and existing high value donors (individuals, trusts and foundations) capable of six and seven figure gifts, with a focus on developing a pipeline of prospects from ‘cold to donation’ and raising average gift values.
• Strategically cultivate and steward influential two-way relationships with senior stakeholders (CEO, exec team, trustees, senior volunteers) across BHF to maximise opportunities for philanthropic audiences.
• Co-lead the development and stewardship of the philanthropic fundraising board to identify and secure transformation (6-7 figure) gifts, working closely with the Director of Philanthropy, Corporate and Community Fundraising and the Chair of the philanthropic fundraising board.
• Set clear briefing requirements to maximise the expertise within the High Value Operations team to support systems and processes, including prospect identification and research, network mapping, due diligence and data management.
• Harness the High Value Engagement team expertise to outline the philanthropic strategic alignment for special event requirements, cultivation activity and engagement support aligned to prospect and donor plans.

Person specification

• Extensive experience of building and maintaining long-term relationships with high-net-worth constituents such as individual major donors, trusts, and foundations at the very highest levels.
• Track record of converting cold prospects to planned gifts of 6-7 figures (over £500k).
• Significant experience of successfully engaging trustees and/or senior volunteer committees to drive philanthropic income.
• Proven experience of building a high-performing fundraising team, developing confidence and capability to cultivate a pipeline from ‘cold to donation’
• Experience building and successfully executing ambitious multi-year philanthropic campaigns and fundraising plans for an organisation, including strategic initiatives for donors.
• Experience working in a large organisation with a matrix management structure